The US state of Georgia temporarily halted executions Tuesday after the drug used for lethal injections appeared faulty, authorities said. The decision came a day after Georgia delayed for the second time the execution of Kelly Gissendaner, convicted of conspiring to murder her husband, when the execution team found that the lethal pentobarbital dose appeared cloudy. Gissendaner's execution had already been delayed for several days because of wintry weather in the southern state. "Out of an abundance of caution, the scheduled executions of Kelly Renee Gissendaner and Brian Keith Terrell, have been postponed while an analysis is conducted of the drugs planned for use in last night's scheduled execution of inmate Gissendaner," Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan said.

Israel and the United States clashed furiously over the Iran nuclear talks Tuesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning the deal under discussion would leave his country open to annihilation. With Netanyahu in Washington to deliver an impassioned address to the US Congress, President Barack Obama hit back immediately, scoffing that he had presented no idea of his own to contain the Iranian threat. Netanyahu's party faces a close-fought Israeli parliamentary election in two weeks time and he has been accused in some quarters of imperilling Israel's close ties with Washington for personal political gain.